maryland marijuana

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The first specialty clinic for medical marijuana opened in Annapolis in June and has seen more than 100 prospective patients — even though the Maryland Medical Cannabis Program isn’t expected to be operational for another year.

Greenway Consultations, located in the Conte Lubrano Office Building, has three consultants and three physicians, who are not yet registered to recommend the drug through the Maryland Medical Cannibis Commission. The commission develops and oversees all licensing, registration, inspection and testing.

The clinic’s spokesman Nick Petrucci said opening in advance of the program has advantages, such as beginning to build the patient-doctor relationship to expedite a recommendation for marijuana when the program begins.

The commission requires physicians to examine the patient, review and maintain medical records, assess his or her medical history and provide follow-up care, as needed.

Cannabis program regulations were to be under public comment until July 27 and the commission expects to adopt them in September. It also anticipates doctor and patient registries through the state to begin in December or January.

“All the laws have been approved,” Petrucci said. “Every doctor that we are associated with, we meet those (drafted) guidelines. The worst case scenario is if there were adjustments to the regulations, (doctors) would simply follow those requirements.”

Judy Pentz, executive director of the state’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a nonprofit that advocates for the legalization of the drug, said the clinic asked for the organization’s support but she was hesitant.

“They should not be charging money yet for a program that has not been implemented,” she said. “I’m very concerned.”

Hannah Byron, executive director of the commission, said it supports the dissemination of accurate information about medical cannabis in Maryland, which is a goal of Greenway Consultation. The business plans to host monthly meetings at which dispensaries, grow sites, botanical grow stores, hydroponic shops and head shops will be invited to speak and hold education demonstrations.

“It is important for potential patients to recognize the program’s regulations are not yet finalized and that only licensed physicians in good standing with the state will be authorized to certify patients for medical cannabis use once the program becomes operational,” Byron said.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul rattled off numbers for the mostly white, mostly older crowd of Maryland Republicans, explaining how blacks are arrested for marijuana offenses in Baltimore at a higher rate than whites.

“If you do surveys, the statistics are pretty close between black and white marijuana use,” the Republican presidential hopeful said at a state party fundraiser last week. “I’m not saying it’s racism. Many of the officials [in Baltimore] are black. So it’s not racism. But something is wrong with the war on drugs when we decide to lock people up for five, 10, 15 years for making mistakes.”

The crowd broke into applause.

As the crime rate falls and the number of high-profile cases in which police officers are accused of racial bias escalates, Republicans increasingly are joining what had long been a Democratic conversation: how to reduce the size of the prison population and help ex-offenders turn their lives around.

In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan this year became the latest Republican state leader to back bills intended to reduce recidivism and help ex-offenders find jobs. And while Hogan also vetoed a bill that would have expanded felon voting rights, advocates say he and other Republicans have shown a willingness to rethink long-held theories about how to reduce crime.

“There’s a change in climate in criminal justice reform,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a national advocacy group that has worked to change the way Americans view crime and punishment.

The shift by Republicans is largely motivated by costs, Democrats say. Fiscally conservative Republicans see prison expenses as a drain on strained budgets and are starting to work with Democrats to find less costly approaches.

The declining crime rate, Mauer said, has made the debate “less emotional and less political” for lawmakers.

In Alabama, where prison crowding was so severe that the federal government threatened to intervene, Republican Gov. Robert Bentley approved a measure that reduces penalties for some nonviolent property and drug crimes.

Hogan signed a bill to create the Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council, which will search for ways to reduce spending on corrections. The council will be led by Christopher Shank, a former Republican state senator who directs the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

“Taking a tough stance on crime isn’t just about incarceration,” Hogan said in a statement offering his support for the bill during the legislative session. He said Maryland needed to “strike a balance and explore better, smarter options” to locking people up.

Hogan also signed a bill that allows ex-offenders to shield court and police records on certain offenses, to make it easier for them to obtain employment.

The governor allowed two bills that change sentencing guidelines to be enacted without his signature. One repeals mandatory-minimum sentencing for some offenses and gives judges greater discretion over meting out punishment. The other allows offenders to expunge certain crimes from their records.

But Hogan vetoed two criminal justice bills. One would have permitted ex-offenders to vote while on parole or probation; the other would have decriminalized drug paraphernalia such as bongs and pipes.

Mauer said the voting-rights veto showed a disconnect in Hogan’s thinking about the links among criminal justice policy, racial and economic inequality, and the plight of urban communities. “It is disappointing,” Mauer said. “Especially to do it at this moment, with all the developments in Baltimore. It’s not a very constructive message to send to people.” READ MORE »

The Marijuana Control and Revenue Act of 2015 will be discussed at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. The measure is sponsored by Baltimore Del. Curt Anderson (D) who is hoping the third time is a charm. Delegate Anderson tried twice before and both measures failed.

This year’s proposal, like its predecessors, would allow adults (21 years or older) to legally possess one ounce of marijuana and to grow up to 6 plants at home. The bill would tax and regulate marijuana just like alcohol. It would require the State Comptroller to establish rules and regulations for the operation of cultivation facilities, product manufacturers and retailers. The proposed legislation would also create an oversight commission to monitor marijuana businesses.

Proponents say the measure could be a long shot but they’re hoping lawmakers will be swayed by a recent poll showing 53 percent of Marylanders support legalizing marijuana. But one Marylander is opposed to the legalization: Republican Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan is also against medical marijuana which was signed into law by former Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley.

Marijuana businesses would not be permitted to operate within 1,000 feet of a school, and localities would be able to enforce additional regulations. Using marijuana in public and driving under the influence would remain illegal.

Currently in Maryland, possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana is a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $100 for a first offense, up to $250 for a second offense, and up to $500 for subsequent offenses.

Statement from Sara Love, public policy director for the ACLU of Maryland:

“The Marijuana Control and Revenue Act is the next step on the road to saner drug policy in Maryland. For too long, tens of thousands of Marylanders, disproportionately black Marylanders, have faced life-altering criminal penalties simply for possessing a substance most voters believe should be legalized. Now, our state has the opportunity to move beyond the tragic costs of the counterproductive ‘war on drugs’ and toward increased revenue that can be used to support policies that strengthen communities.”

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Medical Marijuana Commission has announced the appointment of its first executive director.

The panel said Friday that Hannah Byron has been named to the position. Bryon has been assistant secretary for the Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts of the Department of Business and Economic Development.

The appointment is effective Jan. 14.

Dr. Paul Davies, who chairs the commission, says the panel is excited that Byron will bring deep experience with the business community to the commission.

Byron says she looks forward to working with the medical profession and patients, law enforcement as well as business and agricultural leaders to get the state’s medical marijuana program operational as quickly as possible.

The program is not expected to be operational until early to mid-2016.

Eric E. Sterling, a member of the commission, said this week that the state is working as quickly as politically and legally feasible.

“The General Assembly and the commission want patients to get safe access to medical marijuana. When the state says this is medical marijuana, it would mean that it is a pure and safe product,” Sterling said.

A 2016 start date for the program was not unreasonable, he said.

“Setting up the infrastructure would take a certain amount of time … it has to be developed with enough controls,” Sterling said.

In 2013, the state passed legislation authorizing approval of programs operated by academic medical centers, allowing them to dispense marijuana to patients. But no academic center expressed interest in the program.

As a result, legislation was passed this year to let approved physicians prescribe marijuana to qualified patients who could then buy it from licensed dispensaries.

The commission has proposed fees for up to 15 marijuana growers at $250,000 for every two years, while the fees for dispensaries would be $80,000 for every two years, according to The Associated Press.

The draft regulations passed last week still need to be approved by the state’s health secretary and a legislative body composed of selected senators and delegates.

Doctors would have to apply for approval, as would growers and dispensaries.

Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, who was part of a group that worked on legislation earlier this year that expanded the responsibilities of the state commission, said it makes sense for the state to take its time on the issue.

“I want to make sure we do this right. We want to make sure we err on the side of caution,” Shank said.

Doing so would avoid scenarios such as in California, where the medical marijuana laws are a mess, according to Shank.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws allowing medical marijuana. Florida voters were asked to approve a medical marijuana amendment to the state constitution on Nov. 4. While 58 percent voted yes, it was not enough to reach the 60 percent threshold required for ratifying a new amendment.

The state of Maryland plans to issue 15 medical marijuana grower’s licenses, and up to 94 medical marijuana dispensary licenses, according to Evan Barnes of Green Rush Consulting in an article posted by The Daily Chronic.

The Green Rush Consulting site contains easy-to-access links to Maryland’s still evolving regulations, outlining the costs and steps involved in opening a dispensary in Maryland.

On April 14, 2014, the Governor of Maryland signed Senate Bill 923 and House Bill 881 into law. These bills allow medical marijuana growers and dispensaries to open in Maryland to provide medical cannabis to patients who receive written certifications from their physician.

Before these bills were signed into law, Maryland decriminalized the medical use of marijuana for patients and their caregivers, and House Bill 1101 allowed for the investigational use of marijuana for medical purposes at academic medical centers.

However, that program never took off, and it is only with the enactment of SB 923 and HB 881 that Maryland has truly become the 21st state to enact medical marijuana legislation.

Up to $341,000 in startup capital may be required just to pay the application and licensing fees required to start medical marijuana dispensaries or grower facilities in Maryland. Groups applying to become licensed medical marijuana growers will have to pay a total of $6,000 to apply; dispensary applicants will have to pay $5,000. The biennial licensing fee for growers will be $250,000, and the biennial fee

The crowd at the state’s medical marijuana commission meetings in Annapolis on Sept. 9 and Sept. 23 consisted mostly of growers, dispensers and consulting firm representatives who were eager to join the new program. Since September 2013, the 15-member commission has held 15 meetings to discuss details about Maryland’s future medical cannabis industry.

Dispensaries, growers and patients in need of medicinal marijuana are growing more and more restless with each passing commission meeting, reports The Maryland Daily Record.

Distribution of medical marijuana in Maryland is not expected to start until early 2016.

“I can see recreational marijuana being legalized before medical marijuana is finalized in Maryland,” said Judy Pentz, executive director of the state chapter of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). “The commission seems stuck in the reefer madness era.”